Bentley Library Top 10 Most Popular Books, DVDs & Audiobooks of 2016/17

by Lisa Curtin
May 23, 2017

Welcome to the 8th annual Bentley Library Top 10!

At the end of every academic year we query the library's circulation system to rank the library’s most popular books, audiobooks, DVDs and OverDrive downloadable books based on the number of times they have been borrowed (excluding items placed on reserve for a class). Think of these as the library's very own "bestseller" lists! This year you'll find a handful of titles that were popular across multiple formats. Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult, Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance, Today Will be Different by Maria Semple, Commonwealth by Ann Patchett, and The Whistler by John Grisham all ranked on the book, eBook and digital audiobook lists. John Brooks's book Business Adventures was published back in 1969, but it just made its first appearance in our Top 10 two years after Bill Gates named it his favorite business book. And making a remarkable fifth appearance on the most circulated books list is Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis! It's a little unusual to not have any television series place in the Popular DVD rankings (not even Game of Thrones!), but what's not surprising is that movies based on books scored big. We hope you enjoy this glimpse into the reading and viewing habits of the Bentley community as much as we do, and that you'll be inspired to borrow something that appears here. There were many ties in the rankings, so you have even more to choose from. Browse the BENTLEY LIBRARY TOP 10 lists for academic year 2016-2017 in the categories of Popular Reading, Stacks (regular book collection), Audiobooks, Popular DVDs, OverDrive Downloaded eBooks and OverDrive Downloaded Audiobooks.

Top 10 Most Circulated Books from the Popular Reading Collection

1. HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD a new play by Jack Thorne, based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany & Jack Thorne
2. THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD by Colson Whitehead
3. COMMONWEALTH by Ann Patchett
4. (tie) SHOE DOG: A MEMOIR BY THE CREATOR OF NIKE by Phil Knight
4. (tie) SMALL GREAT THINGS by Jodi Picoult
4. (tie) THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN by Paula Hawkins
4. (tie) THE GIRL WITH THE LOWER BACK TATTOO by Amy Schumer
8. TRULY MADLY GUILTY by Liane Moriarty
9. (tie) BEFORE THE FALL by Noah Hawley
9. (tie) DARK MATTER by Blake Crouch
9. (tie) MY BRILLIANT FRIEND: NEAPOLITAN NOVELS, BOOK ONE by Elena Ferrante
9. (tie) PRESENCE: BRINGING YOUR BOLDEST SELF TO YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGES by Amy Cuddy
9. (tie) THE WHISTLER by John Grisham
9. (tie) TODAY WILL BE DIFFERENT by Maria Semple

Top 10 Most Circulated Books from the Stacks

1. LIAR'S POKER: RISING THROUGH THE WRECKAGE ON WALL STREET by Michael Lewis
2. HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE by Dale Carnegie
3. (tie) THE INTELLIGENT INVESTOR: A BOOK OF PRACTICAL COUNSEL by Benjamin Graham
3. (tie) THINKING, FAST AND SLOW by Daniel Kahneman
5. (tie) AN INTRODUCTION TO STATISTICAL LEARNING: WITH APPLICATIONS IN R by
Gareth James, Daniela Witten, Trevor Hastie & Robert Tibshirani
5. (tie) THE 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE: RESTORING THE CHARACTER ETHIC by Stephen R. Covey
7. (tie) GETTING TO YES by Roger Fisher and William Ury
7. (tie) MINDSET: THE NEW PSYCHOLOGY OF SUCCESS by Carol S. Dweck
7. (tie) FAST FOOD NATION: THE DARK SIDE OF THE ALL-AMERICAN MEAL by Eric Schlosser
10. (tie) BUSINESS ADVENTURES by John Brooks
10. (tie) HILLBILLY ELEGY: A MEMOIR OF FAMILY AND CULTURE IN CRISIS by J.D. Vance
10. (tie) THE LIFE-CHANGING MAGIC OF TIDYING UP by Marie Kondo
10. (tie) D-DAY, JUNE 6, 1944: THE CLIMACTIC BATTLE OF WORLD WAR II by Stephen E. Ambrose
10. (tie) MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN by Ransom Riggs
10. (tie) ELON MUSK: TESLA, SPACEX, AND THE QUEST FOR A FANTASTIC FUTURE by Ashlee Vance
10. (tie) INTRODUCTORY TIME SERIES WITH R by Paul S.P. Cowpertwait & Andrew V. Metcalfe
10. (tie) RECLAIMING CONVERSATION: THE POWER OF TALK IN A DIGITAL AGE by Sherry Turkle
10. (tie) STORIES OF YOUR LIFE AND OTHERS by Ted Chiang
10. (tie) THE 48 LAWS OF POWER by Robert Greene
10. (tie) THE LEAN STARTUP by Eric Ries

Top 10 Most Circulated Audiobooks [Compact Disc]

1. TRULY MADLY GUILTY by Liane Moriarty
2. (tie) BULLSEYE by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge
2. (tie) GRIT: THE POWER OF PASSION AND PERSEVERANCE by Angela Duckworth
4. (tie) A GREAT RECKONING by Louise Penny
4. (tie) HAMILTON: THE REVOLUTION by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter
4. (tie) JURASSIC PARK by Michael Crichton
4. (tie) THE GIRL FROM VENICE by Martin Cruz Smith
4. (tie) THE GIRL WITH THE LOWER BACK TATTOO by Amy Schumer
4. (tie) THE LAKE HOUSE by Kate Morton
10. (tie) DEATH OF A GHOST by M. C. Beaton
10. (tie) THE FIFTH PETAL by Brunonia Barry
10. (tie) THE GUEST ROOM by Chris Bohjalian
10. (tie) THE STARLING PROJECT by Jeffery Deaver

Top 10 Most Circulated DVDs from the Popular DVD Collection

1. (tie) GHOSTBUSTERS
1. (tie) THE ACCOUNTANT
1. (tie) THE NICE GUYS
1. (tie) THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS
5. (tie) THE JUNGLE BOOK
5. (tie) ME BEFORE YOU
7. (tie) FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS
7. (tie) THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN
7. (tie) JASON BOURNE
10. MIKE AND DAVE NEED WEDDING DATES

Top 10 Downloaded eBooks [OverDrive]

1. HILLBILLY ELEGY: A MEMOIR OF A FAMILY AND CULTURE IN CRISIS by J.D. Vance
2. COMMONWEALTH by Ann Patchett
3. HOME by Harlan Coben
4. SMALL GREAT THINGS by Jodi Picoult
5. THE WHISTLER by John Grisham
6. NIGHT SCHOOL by Lee Child
7. HIDDEN FIGURES by Margot Lee Shetterly
8. (tie) DARK MATTER by Blake Crouch
8. (tie) FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM: THE ORIGINAL Screenplay by J. K. Rowling
8. (tie) A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW by Amor Towles
8. (tie) THE SELLOUT by Paul Beatty
8. (tie) TODAY WILL BE DIFFERENT by Maria Semple
8. (tie) TWO BY TWO by Nicholas Sparks

Top 10 Downloaded Audiobooks [OverDrive]

1. COMMONWEALTH by Ann Patchett
2. SCRAPPY LITTLE NOBODY by Anna Kendrick
3. (tie) HILLBILLY ELEGY: A MEMOIR OF A FAMILY AND CULTURE IN CRISIS by J.D. Vance
3. (tie) SMALL GREAT THINGS by Jodi Picoult
5. (tie) THE GIRL BEFORE by JP Delaney
5. (tie) TALKING AS FAST AS I CAN by Lauren Graham
7. (tie) BRITT-MARIE WAS HERE by Fredrik Backman
7. (tie) THE CHEMIST by Stephenie Meyer
7. (tie) TODAY WILL BE DIFFERENT by Maria Semple
7. (tie) THE WHISTLER by John Grisham

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